The only light left burning by Erik J. Brown

Readers who enjoyed Brown’s dystopian romance novel All that’s left in the world will be eager to take up this sequel to find out what happens to Andrew and Jamie next. Will they create a new life together in the relative safety of the Key Colony while the rest of the world is ravaged by white supremacist groups and roving gangs? It is a post-apocalyptic world, one where a super-flu plague has devastated populations, and law and order has collapsed. Gangs are reduced to looting and pillage to scrounge the essentials to survive.

This novel seems directed to a slightly older audience than the first one, with the central preoccupation being the tensions in the relationship between Andrew and Jamie. Now that they have stopped in one place for a while, there is the beginning realisation that perhaps they each want different things in life. Andrew is all for staying surrounded by friends, his new family, whilst Jamie is very slow to trust and is focussed on returning to the solitude of the cabin they shared away from everyone.

The adventure doesn’t stop – there are challenges from ferocious alligators to ruthless thieves to bounty hunters after the reward for Jamie’s capture. However, this second book suffers a little from the problem shared by many sequels, the frequent references to people and events of the first book and the need for explanations of what went before. Readers may not find this book as enthralling as the first.

There is lots to like nevertheless: the smart and witty humour, warm and supportive characters like Rocky Horror and Clara, and the sad orphan ‘The Kid’ to pull at heartstrings. I especially like the relationships between Andrew and Jamie and the little children they gather together. I rather hoped the two would end up setting up a family home with all the orphans. It is a very different scenario to the usual LBGQTI+ romance, and is so much richer for that.

The next novel by Brown promises to be a stand-alone ‘dark YA thriller’, something to look out for.

Themes: Dystopia, LGBQTI+, Romance, Pandemic, Journey.

Helen Eddy